“Back in my day…”

Boy time flies. I still honestly don’t feel that far away from the day I graduated college, or even high school. Mind you, it has been (mumble, mumble) years, but somehow it still feels like last week most of the time. I guess that speaks to my level of maturity-or lack thereof-but yeah, time is passing faster than I can process it, obviously!

This was made clear to me this morning when I was talking to a customer on the phone, discussing his ideas for custom pins he wants to create. He was calling on behalf of his senior class and wanted to get pins done in his school colors with “Class of 2013″ in bright gold at the center. It’s going to be a really great piece when it’s done, and it will undoubtedly be treasured by the entire class for years and years, but boy, did the line “Class of 2013″ take me off guard! I couldn’t help but do the math and conclude that some of these graduating seniors might not have been born the day I started my high school career. That perhaps does give away my age.

But it also made me realize that the memories and mementos I have from my high school and college days are still treasured by me today. The young man I was speaking with on the phone actually asked me, somewhat insecurely, if I thought that this was in fact a good idea, or if it was “stupid”. I emphatically told him that it was a GREAT idea. To back it up I told him about how I still had my high school class ring, a tradition that isn’t as big a deal now but back when I was that age, was extremely important. I assured him that I’m still really grateful to have that ring, and that it always makes me smile. He seemed convinced then that his idea for custom pins was the right one.

Time sure does fly, but hopefully we pick up a few bits and pieces along the way that we can pick up, look at, and use to bring us right back to where we were “when”. To help us forget that we didn’t just graduate last week. To keep us young at heart.